PALESTINE EXPO: EXPOSING THE HATE On the 6th and 7th July 2019, the Friends of Al Aqsa organisation Seems fairly noble, right? will host the Palestine Expo 2019. It is billed as a “fun, family day out providing visitors with a unique immersive experience. Wrong. Palestine Expo is a chance to bring people together to celebrate Palestine.” FOA ignore the very real human rights violations of Palestinians by the PA and Hamas who rule the West Bank and Gaza respectively, with an autocratic and kleptocratic iron fist. The Al Aqsa Mosque, atop the holy Temple Mount, is under the control of the Islamic Waqf. Despite the Temple Mount being holy to Jews and Christians too, non-Muslims are Surely that can’t be a bad thing, right? not allowed to pray there. Despite this, Israel has repeatedly confirmed that it has no desire to change the status quo on the Temple Mount. Nothing then for FOA to protect there! Wrong. FOA is one of the more extremist Islamist organisations at work in Britain today. It has supported the charity ‘Interpal’ (proscribed by the US Treasury) which is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). FOA are closely involved in several Islamist organisations such as the British In reality, aside from the great art, music and cuisine on offer, the Muslim Initiative (BMI) which is a front group for Hamas. One of its Expo’s organisers provide a platform to anti-Israel, Antisemitic and co-founders, Muhammad Sawalha, is a senior Hamas activist. Hamas Holocaust-denying speakers whose sole aim is to demonise and is an internationally proscribed terrorist group. While the FOA’s stated delegitimise Israel whilst supporting and whitewashing the crimes purpose is to protect “Palestinian rights”, it actually supports Hamas, of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza. its ideology, and terrorism (the so-called “resistance”) Sadly for Palestinians and Israelis, messages of peace and FOA collaborates with the Iranian-funded so-called human rights coexistence will NOT be heard from the speakers at this Expo. organisation known as the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), in organising events such as Al Quds day, at which public support is expressed for the Iranian proxy Jew-hating genocidal terror group Let’s take a closer look at the Expo’s Hezbollah. As of early 2019, Hezbollah has now been banned in its organisers, Friends of Al Aqsa (FOA) entirety in the UK. Founded in 1997 by a British optician, Ismail Patel, FOA describes itself as “a UK based non-profit making NGO concerned with defending the human rights of Palestinians and protecting the sacred al-Aqsa Sanctuary in Jerusalem”. Huda Elmi is a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee Some of the speakers at this year’s who has aggressively criticised the NEC’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of Antisemitism (IHRA) Palestine Expo include: as “incredibly disappointing”. Ms Elmi’s claim that the author of the IHRA (Kenneth Stern) has criticised its current use is only partially true. Stern’s only caveat was with regard its usage on campuses. But for everyone else, Stern’s message is clear: the definition should be used Ilan Pappe is an international leader within the Boycott, Divestment, more than it is. Stern has also said that in his view, accusing Israel of Sanctions (BDS) movement. He is an Israeli professor of History apartheid and boycotting it are linked to Antisemitism. at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. In 2011 Pappé was discredited as “one of the world’s sloppiest historians; at worst, one of the most dishonest” by fellow and renowned Israeli historian Andy Slaughter is the Labour MP for Hammersmith and has long Benny Morris. For decades, Pappé has exploited his academic pulpit been close to the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB), a Hamas front with to propagate the historically and currently false claim that Israelis are a chilling record of promoting some of the very worst hate preachers. committing an ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Palestinians, as well as the lie that Slaughter is a keen supporter of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign Israel is an ‘apartheid’ state. (PSC), a group whose peddling of Antisemitic material was recently reported on by the Evening Standard. On Friday 8th December 2017, Slaughter was amongst those demonstrating outside the US Embassy Joseph Massad is a professor of modern Arab Politics and where chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” were belted Intellectual History at Columbia University (Columbia). He denies the out, as well as “Jews, remember Khaybar the army of Muhammad is Jewish connection to Israel, likens Jews to Nazis, propagates returning”. That demo was also supported by the PFB, the PSC and the allegations that “the Jewish state is a racist state that does not have organisers of this Expo, Friends of Al Aqsa. a right to exist”, maliciously describes Zionism as an “anti-Semitic project” and supports and indeed promotes the BDS movement. A 2004 documentary film titled ‘Columbia Unbecoming’ featured Columbia students giving testimony that Massad had either It is worth noting that the overwhelming majority of this year’s intimidated them or treated them unfairly because of their pro-Israel Palestine Expo speakers seem to oppose the existence of a Jewish- views. majority state within any borders. Simply put, whilst championing the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and sovereignty, too many of the speakers vociferously seek to deny Issa Amro is a Palestinian activist from Hebron who is often described this same right to the Jews, and the Jews only. as the “Palestinian Ghandi”. However, the evidence against Amro confirms that he is certainly not “non-violent”. Past charges against him confirm that he has repeatedly taken part in riots, attacks on soldiers and civilians, incitement and interference with security forces. It is a sad indictment on such people, and their supporters, that In one of the events described in an indictment, Amro violently attacked their so-called ‘support’ for the Palestinian people is overwhelmingly a civilian, forcibly took the victim’s camera, and then destroyed the predicated on the demonisation, deligitimisation and ultimate denial camera by smashing it on the ground, all while spitting on the victim. of the right of a UN member state to exist at all. This Expo has interactive installations, specifically their security measures due to the increased threat of Isis-inspired terrorism. In the last decade, all airports have greatly increased safety precautions. designed for its younger visitors. Even though the vast majority of Palestinians enter, work, and leave with no problem, Israel The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is a complex one between two nonetheless has to remain vigilant due to the ongoing threat of terrorism and so must sides. Targeting young visitors to this Expo with interactive installations which choose between three options: seek to demonise Israelis and hold them solely responsible for the decades-old 1. Simply allow no travel, which would predominantly harm the Palestinian society and conflict is both irresponsible and counter intuitive to encouraging negotiations, economy. and ultimately peace, between both sides. 2. Allow unrestricted access – and then, following the inevitable increase in terrorism, be forced to implement option 1. BDS: Have a go at knocking down apartheid in a game of BDS bowling. 3. Settle for the current compromise between competing needs. The BDS movement, by its own admission, does not recognise the right of Israel, a UN member state, to exist in any borders. Its tactics include blatant Antisemitism, intimidation Apartheid wall: See how you interact with your family during a meal with the and bullying. Recent research confirms that the BDS movement has over 100 ties with Apartheid wall cutting through the dinner table. A symbol of how families are designated terror groups and that 30 BDS operatives, including murderers who served time separated by the wall. in prison, now hold senior positions within BDS-promoting NGOs. The so-called wall is a fence, not a wall. About 97% of the fence is made of chain-link material. The remaining 3% is concrete, and is designed and situated to repel sniper fire in Education: what obstacles will you face on your journey to school? Walk particular areas. It was built in response to thousands of suicide bombings and rocket towards the oversized book to find out. attacks on Israeli citizens by Palestinian terrorists sponsored and armed by the Palestinian Since its creation, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has used its school system to poison entire Authority and Hamas. In the years since the construction of the fence, terrorist attacks have generations, indoctrinating them and promoting violence. The UK government gives British declined by more than 90%. Its route has been changed on several occasions in order to tax pounds to the PA for its education system. While the stated goal of these contributions alleviate burdens on the Palestinians living adjacent to it. The security fence was built to is to promote peace, in actuality, the money is being spent to teach the rejection of peace keep out terrorists, not Palestinians and to refer to it as an apartheid wall is, at best in favour of the adoption of violence. 75 PA schools are named after terrorists and Nazi disingenuous and at worst, mendacious. collaborators. Hamas’s education system in Gaza is no different, only insofar as Hamas uses its schools from which to conduct its terrorist activities, a practice against international law. Settlements: 3D settlements placed on the disappearing maps will show you the Educating children to hate is nothing short of child abuse.